Guru Amar Dass

Guru Amar Das (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ) (Born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 5 May 1479 – died 14 May, 1574 in Amritsar, India). He was the third of the Eleven Gurus of Sikhism, and he became Guru on 26 March 1552 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad Dev, who died 29 March 1552.

He was born in Basarka village in Amritsar district, the eldest son of his parents, Bhai Tej Bhan Bhalla and Mata Lakhmi. At the age of 24, he was married to Mansa Devi who gave birth to two sons, Mohan and Mohri, and two daughters, Bibi Dani and Bibi Bhani. He often went to Haridwar and Jwalamukhi on pilgrimages. Guru Amar Das was past the age of sixty before he came into contact with Sikhism.

The Third Sikh Guru contributed the following to the people of the world: All visitors to Gurdwaras to take Langar Free Food. Guru lifted the status of women as equal to men. Prohibited the practice of Sati Established a Administration system for management of congregations Gift of the prayer called Anand Sahib.

I.
Guru Amar Dass, Nanak the Third, is referred to as "an incomparable prophet" in the Sikh scripture (Bhalle Amardas gunu tere teri upma tohi ban avai), not in the sense of unparalleled qualitative superiority or imperial spiritual status, for, according to Sikh doctrines there is no social hierarchy in the world of the Spirit and no gradation of excellence or rank amongst God's prophets or men otherwise 'filled with God'. The Sikh scripture refers to all true prophets and men filled with the Holy Spirit, as 'co-equal and entitled to utmost reverence' (Nanak vechara kia kahai, sabh lok salahai ek sai, siru Nanak loka pav hai, balihari jao jete tare nav hai). But there are differences of identity and in the aroma of the time-climate in which the prophets and the messengers of God manifest themselves and operate. It is in this sense that Guru Amar Dass is referred to as 'incomparable' in the Guru Granth.

The epiphany of the spiritual effulgence of Guru Amar Dass occurred in the second half of the 16th Century when, in an obscure corner of India, he appeared in the religious firmament of the world as a quasar, quasi-star but has been commonly regarded as a mere asteroid. A 'quasar' is a distinct heavenly body distinguishable by its extraordinary radio-action, smaller than galaxies, yet emitting many million times the energy released by any ordinary star. A quasar is incredibly luminous though such stellar objects are estimated to be about 5,300 million light-years away from us, while an asteroid or planetoid is just a junior member of our own solar system, just a little planet. Those who like to view Guru Nanak in his ten manifestations as bhaktas of Hindu Vaishnavite tradition or 'sants' in the sense of highly pious Hindus, confuse a quasar with an asteroid. Nor is Guru Nanak, in any of his Manifestations, to be judged merely by their historical impact on society or history, for, we must not reduce religion to social revolutionary Marxism. As the famous Christian theologian, Harnack has said, "He already wounds religion who primarily asks what it has achieved for culture and progress of mankind and wants, accordingly, to determine its value. The meaning of life unfolds always in the supra-worldly spheres." (Adolf von Harnack, Die Mission, 1902.) "It is in the supra-world that true worth of man is adjudged", according to the Sikh Scripture, (kac pakai othai pae) for, "here it is pitch dark night and there the shining light of the day" (othe dinh ethai sabh rat), wherein alone the meaning of life and death are clearly seen.

His exegesis of the specific component Ananda, joy, bliss, of the Hindu comprehension of absolute Reality, sat-cit-anand, that is, truth-consciousness-bliss.

His new psycho-somatic understanding of 'food' with its social implications.

His deeper interpretation of the Hindu ideal of a 'virtuous wife', Sati.

His estimation of the female-principle in woman in relation to her capacity and eligibility to religious experience in its fullness and participation in religious practices and ritual, her right to preach religion and her right to administer ecclesiastical and church affairs.

Finally, his ideas about 'revelation' and 'literature', and his peculiar literary craftsmanship.

III

Guru Amar Dass was born on May 5, 1479. His occupation as a secular man was agriculture and petty trade. He married at the age of 24 and had two sons and two daughters. He was a staunch Vaishnavite Hindu who annually went on pilgrimage to Haridwar to have a dip in the Ganga and he practised austerities and regularly performed religious rituals befitting a pious Hindu. It was rather late in life that he came in contact with Nanak, the second, Guru Angad, and was eventually consecrated as Nanak, the Third, as Guru Amar Dass in the year 1552.

For 22 years of his remaining life he preached religion and organised Sikh religious affairs with unremitting zeal and unabated exertion. And the obscure village of Goindwal, near Amritsar, became, elevated to the 'Acropolis of God' in popular estimation, as the Sikh Scripture records (Goindwal gobindpuri sam). In the Sikh World this village became adjudged as "the Axle around which Sikhism revolves and moves forward." (Goindwal Sikhi da dhura). Here Sikhs congregated from far and near and here princes and princesses, Muslims and Hindus, Emperor Akbar and the Raja of Haripur, Kangra came to pay homage to the Guru.

Here Guru Amar Dass established his open free kitchen that served food to visitors round the clock and the Guru made it obligatory for every visitor to have food in this Eating-House (langar) before coming to his presence. The Emperor and the prince, the rich and the poor, the high caste and the low caste, all complied with this requirement.
Here the Guru had excavated and constructed a spacious covered, domed and bricked, huge water-reservoir, the Baoli. It remains firm as a rock even after four centuries of wear and tear; in itself no mean engineering feat that compares favourably with many of our present day five-year Plans' achievements in durability and functional utility. It also is revered as a sacred place of pilgrimage for ritual bathing for those who understand the intimate initiatory relationship between water and religious quest.
It was here that the Guru provided a solid organisational base to the Sikh church by imparting to it the permanent character that parallels but does not enter into direct rivalry with the political state. And which upholds and proclaims the primacy of moral obligations and spiritual necessities of man over the coercive and merely utilitarian power and goals of the political state. He set up twenty-two bishoprics, manjis, coextensive in jurisdiction with the 22 administrative regions of the contemporary Mughal Indian empire, and women were ordained and included amongst these Sikh bishops, conferring on them the right and authority to preach and administer religion and ecclesiastical affairs.

Here God, in His discretion and pleasure, communicated with man, through the Word of the Guru, 'by filling the Guru's personality with His Presence' (gur vic ap smoe sabad vartaia), to make the basic distinction between 'revelation' and 'literature' by assigning the former the validity of true guidance for man in matters of his ultimate concern.
Here, the Word of the Guru clearly distinguished the Sikh mysticism of Personality from the hitherto accepted, the Jainist and Buddhist mysticism of Infinity. The one that aims at denial to one's self so as to become the channel of Divine Love, the vehicle of God's will, and the other that aims at complete, utter and irrecoverable annihilation of personality, mukti/nirvana.

Here the Guru deepened and spiritualised the fundamental social rituals and ceremonies of birth, death and marriage by extricating them from the control and strangle-hold of a hereditary and genetic priesthood of brahmins and by integrating them to the Sikh spiritual discipline for human enlightenment.
Here he issued the stern Ordinance forbidding monasticism and renunciation of the world for a man of religion, and thus emphasised the centrality of activism and world affirmation in Sikhism.
Here, at Goindwal, Guru Amar Dass, passed away on September 1, 1574 after appointing and anointing his successor and after admonishing Sikhs 'not to view death with sorrow and grief (mat main picche ko rovasi so main mul na bhaia) but to know it as a stage and station in the continuing evolution and progress of human soul.

IV

There is one dogma and one scientific truth without accepting and understanding both of which, Sikhism cannot be properly appreciated. There are two approaches to understand and appreciate a religion, one valid and legitimate and the other invalid and arbitrary. The valid approach is that of auto-interpretation. That is, interpretation according to the basic postulates and doctrines of that religion itself, and the arbitrary and presumptuous approach is that of hetero-interpretation, that seeks to evaluate and judge a religion according to postulates and norms alien or hostile to it. This latter is the domain of polemics and confrontation and not of understanding and appreciation.

Hetero-interpretation is, in the poetic imagery of the Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, as if "a jeweller has come to the garden to test excellence of rose-flower by rubbing it against his touch-stone." In Sikhism, auto-interpretation of a religion alone is approved. The Sikh Scripture lays down that, "a sympathetic approach towards a religion is alone fruitful and satisfying, while an attitude of acrimony and faultfinding is frustrating and self-stultifying" (khoji upajai badi binasai). The Sikh Formularies sternly declare "a fault-finding approach towards other religions as anathema" (avar jagat panthan hain jete, kare ninda nahi kabahun tete. -Chaupa Singh).

The fundamental dogma of Sikhism and its epiphany is that all the historical Manifestations of Sikh Gurus, the Ten Nanaks, constitute one identical Personality in continuous movement through ten corporealities, as God of Sikhism is a God of revelation who, on His own initiative presses towards revealing Himself. This dogma is the starting point of Sikhism and is fundamental to its understanding and practice. A dogma is a body of teachings necessary for salvation, rejection of which constitutes adamantine impediment to spiritual progress. It is in this sense that Guru Gobind Singh, Nanak the Tenth, proclaims that without accepting and understanding this dogma, "a Sikh never achieves spiritual fulfilment" (bin jane sidhi hath na aai).

Bhai Gurdas (1 551-1639), an unimpeachable authority on Sikhism, clearly tells us that every historical manifestation of the Nanak is merely a change in corporeality without infringement of the identity of personality (Arjan kaia palat ke murat Hargobind svari). Mohsin Fani, a Zoroastrian contemporary of Nanak, the Sixth (1595-1649) on the basis of correspondence with the Guru, specifically mentions the Sikh dogma as fundamental to Sikhism (Dabistan-e-mazahib, (1645)). The dogma is reiterated in numerous texts of the Guru Granth (Ramdasi guru jag taran kau gur jot Arjan mahi dhari).

V

The scientific fact about Sikhism is that it is neither a syncretism, an amalgam and intellectual extraction from other religions and creeds nor a sect of Hinduism or Islam as has been variously asserted from time to time by numerous authorities. It is an autonomous, independent religion, complete and whole, with its validity inhering in its own revelations and proclamations such as are repeatedly made in the Sikh Scripture, its pious literature and its historical movement.

The newly developed Science of Religion and its critique categorises all higher world-religions into the Mystic religions and the Prophetic religions. The basis of Mystic religions is anonymous experiences of individuals, while the Prophetic religions arise out of a confrontation of an individual, the Prophet, with God in the relationship of 'I and Thou', in the phraseology made famous by Martin Buber (1878-1965). As an authority on the subject explains it:
"What is important in mystical acts is that something happens. What is important in prophetic acts is that something is said ." Abraham J. Herschel, "The Prophets"

The religions taking their birth in the Middle East, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam are 'prophetic' religions while those arising in India, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism are mystic or speculative religions. Sikhism is the only 'prophetic' religion that ever arose in India and the question of its sectarian or subordinate character and status in relation to any Indian religion, therefore, simply cannot arise in any scientific judgement. This position is repeatedly asserted in the sacred texts of the Guru Granth itself.

VI
Mysticism, in the sense of contact with an extrasensory Order of Reality, is the core of all higher religions. After the Second World War, there have been extensive and serious speculations on the modes and contents of mystical experience, in Europe that still overwhelms the East's Euro-centred mental horizons on account of its political strength and superiority of technological power. This activity has arisen out of two different and independent thrusts of scientific enquiry and philosophic speculation. After both of these mighty movements the human mind reached a kind of cul-de-sac, a point beyond which no further travel for the human intellect seemed possible. The shift of sciences into an altogether autonomous sphere after release from the shackles of theology, to that of experimental science and research had led to a world-outlook based on rational scientific concepts, in the 18th century. This is called the "first illumination" by the creative leading intellectuals. Now, during the last two decades or so, notable scientists of the 20th century, such as Albert Einstein, Max Born, Max Planck and Niels Bohr have admitted and declared the religious background of their concepts of life, of the Universe and the man. "My religion", says Albert Einstein, "consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds."

Thrusts into cosmos undertaken through the modern development of Space Sciences by the U. S. A. and U. S. S. R. have contributed to elimination of the geo-centric conception of the world which, until 1960's and early 1970's lay at the basis of naive religious thinking. These space programmes have also contributed to preparing the way for new religious feelings for the world, and for the life by recognition of the unique position of man and his religion in human concerns. This feeling is adumbrated in the holy Koran (51: 57) wherein the ultimate purpose of creation is declared as worship of God. And this feeling is explicitly asserted in the concluding sloka of the Japu wherein our earth is spoken of as the focus of Dharma and the play of Good and Evil implicating ethical activity as the central concern of man.
In philosophy, its classical tool, human reason, was first devalued by the English philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) in his Treatise of Human Nature. Wherein he showed that the truths of reason are true merely by definition, like Mathematics but that the truths of the world we live in are based on experience instead of logic. This gave birth to two directions of philosophical speculation, one pursued by Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzshe, and Jean Paul Sartre who hold that the only knowledge worth having is knowledge that bears directly on the human experience. And the other direction taken up has flowered into Analytical Philosophy, which limits the role of reason to logic and mathematics and thus restricts philosophy's concern with the meaning, structure and precision of language.

The seminal figures of Analytical Philosophy are Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittsgentein who, the last named, used to describe his philosophy, when your today's speaker was his student at Cambridge during the thirties, as "the philosophy to end all philosophy." When painted out that it was likely to create a serious unemployment problem for the philosophers, his reply was "Why, there is the mystic experience." About this mystic experience Albert Einstein says that, "the most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical, It is the sower of all true science."
Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung dealt the coup-de-grace to all rational truth-finding speculators by showing that human reason was a false coin, essentially a tool of human passions, a sycophant and a courtier and no more trustworthy. It is in this background that the recent poignant and intense interest in Mysticism and the date of mystical experiences throughout the ages, available for study, has arisen in the recent decades of the 20th century. Drug-culture of the modern younger generation, hippies, beatniks the flower-children, is a fascinating product and aberration of these trends in the domains of Science and Philosophy. This 'drug culture' has its roots in the scientific and philosophic stalemate in the Western psyche and arises out of a quest and yearning for new experiences and expanded consciousness. This is the "second illumination" of man, after the sway of rationalism of the 18th and l9th centuries that urges him to interest himself in mysticism and beckons him to a return to religion.

VII

The new understanding of the age-old mystic experience of man, much data about which is available for serious study in the Hindu sacred texts of Upanishads and Vedanta and Buddhist texts of Mahayana of Indian and Far Eastern origin. Along with the records left by and pertaining to the great medieval and modern Christian mystics as well as the prestigious Sufi tradition of Islam, reveals that mystical goals are of two categories, distinct and distinguishable, one of the Mystic religions and the other of Prophetic religions. Reynold Nicholson while explaining the nature and goal of Islamic mysticism makes the point clear by saying that, "unlike nirvana which is merely the cessation of individuality the fana, passing away of the Sufi from his phenomenal existence involves baqa, the continuance of his real existence and personality. He who dies to self lives in God. And fana, the consummation of his death, marks the attainment of baqa, or union with the divine life."(The Mystics of Islam. 1921)

The goal of Sikh mysticism as revealed in the Guru Granth and the Dasam Granth of Guru Gobind Singh, is indubitably the goal of baqa of Sufi mysticism. Not irrecoverable dissipation and merger of personality in the neutral Absolute Reality, the Brahma through nirvana and mukti, but the perpetuation of personality through its phenomenal death and by its rise into unison with the Person of God so that the liberated soul, the brahmagyani becomes a vehicle of God's Will in transcendent relationship as well as in the creative process of God.

That is what is meant when the Guru Granth says that "a liberated soul is filled with zeal of cosmic welfare" (brahamgiani paraopkar omaha). That is what is meant when in the Dasam Granth Guru Gobind Singh says that though he had "achieved complete and full unison with God" (dvai te ek rup hvai gaio) and yet the Divine Command sent him back to earth to carry out God's purpose of "propagating good and destroying evil" (dharam caravan sant ubaran, dust sabhan mul uparan). This ultimate concern of man according to Sikhism is the goal of establishing permanent unison with the Transcendent Reality, the Person of God, Akal Purkh and clearly separates and distinguishes Sikhism as a religion, apart from and independent of the Hindu and Buddhist spiritual tradition. The claim of Sikhism as an independent and autonomous, world-religion is no naive or empty boast of a presumptuous claim, and it is a demonstrably valid and scientific assertion. There are no songs of nirvana in the Sikh doctrine and no hungering for the peace of nothingness, utter death, emptiness and immobile little rest or shantih here.

"Nor scattering of personality or cleavage of 'individuality', karvatra, to achieve submergence into the sum-total of eternal substances, Brahman, is the acceptable goal in Sikhism, nor unrealisable and ever unfulfilled human yearning for an utterly inaccessible God is the Sikh doctrine and Vision of religious quest,' but an abiding unison of the nature of a love-duet between man and God, God the Creator of the mortal man and the immortal Brahman, atamattava, both, is the teaching of Sikhism"

VIII
From this concept of Sikh summum bonum follows the new definition and content that Guru Amar Dass imparted to the fundamental concept of Absolute Reality, conceived as sat-cit-ananda in Hindu spiritual tradition. True understanding and pursuit of this last component of Absolute Reality, ananda, has engaged Hindu mind throughout the ages. Conceiving of it as the seed-less and featureless trance where the mind, in its utter unflickering emptiness, is, somehow, aware of this unsullied and altogether unrelated nothingness. And in another way, relating it to pure bodily well-being pushitimarag, or the mystic thrill of sexual experience. Our modern Aurobindo, in his, Life of Divine quotes Taitreyaopanisad with approval where it is said:

"Delight is existence, delight is the secret of creation, delight is the root of birth, is the cause of remaining in existence, delight is the end of birth and that in which creation ceases."
Modern British Philosopher F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) in his Appearance and Reality asserts that "the Perfect means the identity of idea and existence accompanied by pleasure."

Serious reflection, however, would show that these three components or characteristics of the Absolute Reality, no matter how intimately fused into one another to form a single whole, the last one of these components cannot conceivably exist without inhering in a 'person'. Though Being, sat, can be independent of Consciousness, cit, and can exist in its own right. And though cit may likewise exist without the surrogate of and direct alliance with sat, the Being, ananda, joy, bliss, simply cannot exist except as a deposit in the receptacle of consciousness, which postulates a 'person'.

Consciousness itself, the greatest mystery that man encounters, may be conscious of nothing else but itself but that leads to what the philosophers call, 'infinite regression', implicating that the consciousness that is conscious of itself, must in some definite sense, be other than "itself' of which it is conscious. Thus one never can grasp the starting point of this regression, unless a 'person' is postulated as the safe-deposit receptacle of this consciousness. Ananda, in order to be conceived at all, must be known by that which is other than ananda, a 'person'; or else it makes no sense. A 'person' must know Ananda, though sat and cit do not suffer from this incurable pre-requisite disability for them to exist. It follows that, in the Mysticism of Infinity, there just can not be Ananda, while in the Mysticism of Personality, all the three components of the Absolute Reality achieve viability and validity. It was this point which Guru Amar Dass elucidated with remarkable lucidity in his revelation, Anandu Ramkali in the Guru Granth:

"There has been much speculation about what Anandu is, but the Word of the Guru now makes the matter clear. The Anandu is to be ever with God, the gift of His Grace and mark of His love. God, in His Mercy, destroys the impurities and limitations of the human ego and bestows upon him the true knowledge and everlasting existence. The man when freed from the gravitational pull of the world of corruption becomes weightless and purified with Truth, that is, the Word."

IX
The ancient and prestigious chhandogyaopanisad tells us that, "human mind is made up of food" that man consumes, annamayamhi manah. In the Hindu schemata of psychology, body, shrir, consciousness, cita, and mind, manah, are the basic constituents of human personality. While the body is created and is perishable, the soul is imperishable. The cita is the result of past karma and mind is material, created by the food, a man consumes.

Thus, food acquires a central, soterelogical significance in human life, since the karma follows the mind in this life. And the deposit of karma in previous births determines the course of transmigration, the circle of births and deaths, the curse of cyclic existence, a release, mukti, from which is the Hindu summum bonum. Thus the food, that a man eats, acquires a peculiar centrality of significance in the Hindu scheme of things that constitute his ultimate concern, and those who misconceive Hindu scruples about food as grounded in his sense of superiority over others are altogether mistaken. For a Hindu, food is not primarily a matter of physical nourishment, as he views it as the primary source of psychic influences on his mind and thus a matter of extreme spiritual concern. What, how and where he eats is a matter of his private religion and not a matter of lack of feelings of human brotherliness in him. It is an unfortunate and thoroughly mistaken notion that Hindu commensality, the rule that food is to be eaten and received only in the presence of members of a certain group, is either disregard of others' human dignity or simple xenophobia, an irrational hatred for the foreigner.

In this background the Hindu has classified 'food' in accordance with the three Fundamental Modalities of All that Exists, the three gunas of the ancient Samkhya system, the sattava, the rajas and the tamas. The first represents harmony, clarity and equipoise the second, dynamism and activity, and the third, lassitude and confusion. All Existence is modulated and regulated, in varying, degrees, by these three gunas. The most desirable food, therefore, for a Hindu is the Sattava-based food. In Bhagavad-Gita the sattava foods are described as those that are sweet in taste, luscious and delicious to the palate and give a feeling of easement when consumed. The Indian preference for rasgullas, gulabjamins, halwa and sweet pulao on our menu derives from this ancient Hindu insight into the relationship between food and mind and not because they are adjudged as health-foods or of weight-control caloric value.

There are three blemishes as render a food unacceptable to a Hindu: jatidosha, uncivil and barbaric qualities of the food itself, such as onion and garlic. Sthandosha, public and open to the gaze of strangers while being consumed and lastly, nammitadosha, arising out of who cooked the food, who touched it and from where it came.
It was in the context of these hoary traditions and notions that Guru Amar Dass set up his institution of free common kitchen. The langar now deemed as a necessary adjunct of every sizeable Sikh Gurdwara. The Guru made partaking of food in his langar as a prerequisite condition for seeking his audience and coming to his presence. The king and the prince, the rich and the pauper, the high caste and the low caste, the Hindu and the Muslim, all had to, and as the chroniclers tell us did comply willingly with this requirement. A Hindu common kitchen wherein all must eat together is simply unthinkable, while there did exist, in medieval, India, the institution of free and common kitchens maintained by Muslim Sufi darveshas and holy men.

It is on record (Favaid-ul-Fuad) that Nizamuddin Aulia, following the precedent of his spiritual master, Sheikh Farid Shakaraganj, always insisted on a 'visitor' to take food first in his kitchen and then come to his presence. The Aulia often used to quote a hadith that says that, "he who paid a visit to a living person but took no food there, in fact, visited a dead man." But the institution of Sikh langar, which Guru Amar Dass perpetuated, is distinct and distinguishable in principle and objectives from this Muslim practice of a free kitchen. In three respects the institution of the Sikh langar is altogether a novel and revolutionary phenomenon in the history and climate of India:

The essence of the Sikh langar is not essentially hospitality such as has made Muslim tradition of hospitality famous throughout the world and such as characteristically distinguishes the Muslim human type from most other races and communities of the world. In the Sultanate period in Delhi, it is recorded that, a noted Muslim divine used to walk daily through the streets of the town, chanting: "O Muslims, be true Muslims; sell away all your possessions to practice generous hospitality (ai mussalmanan mussalmani kuned, khanch bifirushedo mehmani kuned). In the case of the Sikh langar the food offered is essentially a trans-substantiated host, symbolising Sikh doctrine of universal brotherhood of man.

The Sikh doctrine relates 'food', as such, to nutrition and health, regarding it as a gift from God and disassociates it from the Hindu view of food as the core of psychic life and religious practices.
The Sikh doctrine compresses the concept of food-blemishes to just one comprehensive blemish, that the food eaten must be clean, health-promoting and obtained through just and fair means. All these revolutionary ideas Guru Amar Dass propagated and integrated to the Sikh way of life.

X

'Sati' literally means 'one wedded to truth' and its accepted meaning is 'a virtuous wife.' From times immemorial, in our country, it has been recognised as the true test of a sati that she cremates her living body along with that of her dead husband. The premier and ancient Brahmapurana lays it down as "the highest duty of the woman to immolate herself after her husband, since this is commanded by the Veda as a path greatly reputed in all the worlds" (satrinamyan parodharma yadbharatu anuvesnam vede ca vihito margah sarva lokeshy pujitah -80, 75).

The Greek and the Muslim invaders into India, during the last 24 centuries have been amazed and awe-struck with this custom of sati and have viewed it both as a high water mark of human faith fidelity and as an ignoble custom and dreadful barbarity. Diodorus Siculus, the Greek writer of the 2nd century B. C. cynically refers to this custom as "an insurance against the untimely death of husbands," insinuating it as a common practice in ancient India for men to be poisoned by their women-folk. The sensitive Muslims saw in sati a stunning example of undying human love and unconquerable human faith: "Where else in the world, except in the case of a Hindu woman can you find such sublime love which expresses itself by dying with the dead! (cun zane hindu kase dar ashqi diwana nist, sukhtan bar shama-i- murdeh kare har parvaneh nist).

The foreign rulers in India, viewing the custom, generally, as inhumane and repugnant to conscience have tried to discourage or suppress it through coercive power of the state. The Portuguese, in the first half of the 16th century, made sati illegal in Goa. Emperor Akbar disapproved of it in the Institutes of his newfangled religion, dini-ilahi but promulgated no state-law to forbid it. Jehangir, in his early rule, found new converts to Islam practising sati in the Himalayan foothills and sternly forbade it. Shah Jehan made it illegal for sati to be performed near Muslim cemeteries. Aurangzeb, in 1664 A. D., issued an edict forbidding sati throughout his dominions but his government found itself powerless to enforce it. Lord William Bentick, by Madras regulation 1 of 1829, declared sati illegal in Bengal and punishable by criminal courts.

Sati continued in Punjab up to its annexation of the British Empire in 1849. But such is the pull and thrill of the mystique of sati to the Hindu mind that the practice has staged a nostalgic comeback here and there, after the British left India in 1947. Guru Amar Dass made a seminal pronouncement on the subject of sati by deepening its spiritual significance and annulling its draconic requirement of cremation of the living wife. His relevant revelation in the Guru Granth declares:
"A virtuous wife is not one who burns herself alive with her dead husband. She indeed, would be a sati who dies through shock of separation. But, says Nanak, a true sati is she who bears the shock of separation with courage and lives her natural span of life in a disciplined, dignified and virtuous manner."

This revelation of the Guru firstly deprecates sati through cremation of the living wife and secondly, approves of an enlightened observation in the classical Sanskrit text, Bhartriharinirvedam, of Harihar Upadhaya (10.c.). Wherein queen Bhannumati tells her husband Bhartrihari that for a truly virtuous wife it is unnecessary to mount a funeral pyre alive, and subsequently she proves it by dying of shock on hearing of the fatal news of the death of her husband. Thirdly, the Guru explains the Sikh doctrine on sati by upholding the high Hindu idealism implicit in sati, and by deepening and interiorising its meaning which cleanses the ideal of all its objectionable features relating to burning of the living wife. Never before or since in history has a lofty human ideal, thus been so firmly upheld and repudiated simultaneously.

XI
The question of social status of woman and her political rights is distinct and distinguishable from her capacity and right to full religious experience and to administer religion's ecclesiastical and church affairs. The one concerns social and political customs and prejudices and the other the innate capability of the human female to control and guide institutions and organisations of religion.

While in almost all the higher world-religions, the capacity of woman to participate in the highest levels of religious experience is conceded, her innate capacity to guide and control instititions of religion is not so conceded. The reason for this denial is stated not as custom, tradition or political exigency, but her psychological structure and innate disability arising out of the 'female-principle' of the Creation.

"Under no circumstances must a woman be permitted to hold a position of authority over others or control of herself", na satriyarn scantantrayam arahant (Manusmriti Baudjhayansmriti, Gautamsmriti) is the draconian rule laid down by Hindu lawgivers. Gautam, the Buddha bemoaned before his confidential secretary, Ananda:
"If women had not received permission to enter the Buddhist Order, the good religion would have lasted for a thousand years, but now, O, Ananda, because of women entrants, it will decay and wither after five hundred years." -Mahaparinibbansutta.

The prestigious Bayadavi in his authoritative commentary on the Koran, says that, "Allah has preferred men to women in the matter of mental ability and their power for performance of duties" - Anwar-ul-tanzil
Sheikh Mohammad Hussain Makhloof, the Mufti of Egypt, in a fatwa (1952) had declared that, "There is no authority in Islamic social system for giving the women the right to vote and to be elected to Parliament owing to their inherently unstable nature, on the authority of Islamic law."

In the synagogue the women are inactive participants in the worship-service and sit veiled on the women's side usually separated from the rest by an opaque lattice. Saint Paul carried over the rule of the synagogue into the Christian congregation that, women should keep silence in the churches. Today, this rule is still the basis of the refusal to ordain women as priests in the Roman Catholic Church. In startling contrast to these age-old and almost universal convictions and practices of mankind, Guru Amar Dass, over four hundred years ago, appointed and ordained a large number of women preachers under the nomenclature of 'the Sacred Stools', pirhian. And is on record that, at least one woman was ordained and appointed as a Sikh bishop, Mathura Devi, wife of Murari. This is a truly remarkable phenomenon in the history of world-religions and marks a most new insight into and makes a most liberal estimation of the innate capacities of woman in relation to the highest spheres of human activity, the religion.

XII

How is 'revelation' different from literature and, is literary craftsmanship integral to and peculiar to each one of them, are questions that have occupied the subtlest and loftiest human minds throughout the history of religion. The cognoscenti now generally appreciate the distinction between 'the revelation' and 'literature'. Literature is of secular and rational origin while revelation is of divine inspiration. Literature is product of conflict within the writer himself while revelation, by an external suprahuman agency. Literature may be judged by its quality and effect while revelation is characterised by its autonomous validity, svatesiddha as the Hindus say. Guru Amar Dass makes most unambiguous pronouncement on the subject:

XIII
In the holy Koran is staked the claim that it is inimitable, because it is revelation and not the creation of human mind. "If the mankind and the jinn gathered together to produce the like of this Koran, they could not produce the like thereof even if they should help one another" (1 7: 89)

On the basis of his many theological works have been written on the subject of 'inimitability of Koran', i'jazi-quran. The claim is based on the holy book's literary craftsmanship, its rhyming prose, the principle of which has not yet been properly analysed. T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), the doyen of Modern English literature, has introduced a literary craftsmanship in English poetry which has no precedent in English or other world-literatures. It has been given the name of 'Cyclic Technique in Poetry'. In this technique the problem is stated but is not resolved and ended. There is a halt and a recovery and a recurring branching off to come back to the topic by another road and from another angle. Here is an example:

And, indeed there will be time,
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back on the windowpanes.
There will be time, there will be time.
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.
There will be time to murder and create.
And time for all the works and days of hands,
That lift and drop a question in your plate.

It is T. S. Eliot too who has conspicuously broadened the base of literature into theology and philosophy. Both of these features of Eliot's poetry appear to have been curiously forestalled in the revelations of Guru Amar Dass in the Guru Granth.

Again, when Eliot, in his Four Quarters, speaks of "intersection of the Timelessness with Time", is he trying to say and convey what Guru Amar Dass reveals in his Anandu Ramkali, "eh man meria tu sada rahu hari nale"? 'O my mind, remain ever with God'.

Guru Amar Das was born on April 5, 1479 at Basarka village in Amritsar district. He was the eldest son of his parents, Bhai Tej Bhan and Mata Lakhmi. At the age of 24, he was married to Mansa Devi who gave birth to two sons, Mohan and Mohri, and two daughters, Bibi Dani and Bibi Bhani. The early history of Guru Amar Das has been given in the last chapter.

DATU'S ANIMOSITY:

Guru Angad's sons were upset because they claimed that after their father, they were the legitimate heirs to Guruship. Guru Angad's son Datu, therefore, proclaimed himself as Guru in Khadur; but the Sikhs did not accept him as such. Secondly under Guru Amar Das's strict dictum, it was mandatory that all persons, high or low, rich or poor, king or the commoner, Brahmans or Sudras, and Hindus or Muslims, must sit in the same row as equals to dine in the Guru's langar (kitchen). This had upset the Brahmans very much and they were on the search of an opportunity to rectify this situation. These Brahmans and other higher caste leaders saw some chance in Datu's revolt to capture the Guruship. Upon their support, Datu proceeded to Goindwal where the Guru was stationing.

Guru Amar Das was sitting on his religious throne and was delivering instructions to the congregation. Datu came along with a large number of his companions and kicked the Guru, who fell down the platform. Datu took possession of the platform and proclaimed himself as the Guru. Guru Amar Das got up and said in extreme humility,"Sir, pardon me, my hard bones might have hurt your tender feet." After this the Guru left Goindwal and went to his village Basarka. He confined himself in a house outside the town without letting anybody know about his whereabouts.

Datu sat on Guru's throne in Goindwal and was very proud of his position. The Sikhs, however, did not accept him as Guru, and all the pilgrims to Goindwal went away on hearing of the insult to their Guru. On seeing the Sikhs' contempt towards him, one day Datu loaded his newly acquired wealth on a camel and returned to Khadur. On his way he was encountered with some robbers who seized the camel with the load, and one of the robbers struck Datu on the same foot with which he had kicked the Guru. Datu's foot swelled up and caused him great pain.

The Sikhs were very much distressed at loosing their Guru. They searched all over but could not find him anywhere. Under the leadership of Bhai Buddha, they prayed and then let Guru's mare loose and anxiously followed it for a short distance. The mare made her way to the Guru's house in Basarka, and stood before his door. It was written on the door,"Whoever openeth this door is no Sikh of mine, nor I am his Guru." They did not open the door, but made an opening in the wall and made supplication before the Guru. The Guru could not disregard the love and devotion of his Sikhs and returned to Goindwal. The Guru's return was celebrated with illuminations, rejoicing and feasting.

SOME NOTABLE SIKHS:

Bhai Paro belonged to a village, Dalla in Doaba, an area between the rivers Beas and Satluj. He received religious instructions and emancipation from the Guru. A rich Muslim horse- dealer of Delhi, Alayar, brought five hundred horses from Arabia and arrived at Beas. He could not continue his journey because the river Beas was flooded and the boatmen refused to take the risk in crossing the swollen river. Next morning Alayar saw Bhai Paro plunge his horse into the foaming river and reaching the opposite shore in safety. Alayar met Paro on his return and complimented his daring feat of crossing the river. Bhai Paro told him that it was through the blessings of the Guru that he could cross the swollen river. He further informed Alayar about Guru's glory. Alayar became anxious to meet the Guru. Next morning they both went to see him.

Alayar (Ala means God, and yar means friend) was delighted to see the Guru. Hearing his name the Guru said to him,"It is difficult to become friend (yar) of God (Ala), but I will make God thy Master and thee His servant." Alayar was blessed by the Guru and he became his disciple. Alayar was made incharge of the first Manji (diocese) of the 22 Manjis that were set up by Guru Amar Das later on to spread the fragrance of Name. There are numerous such stories of the Sikhs who were blessed by the Guru.

BAWLI AT GOINDWAL:

Guru Amar Das purchased some land in Goindwal and laid the foundation of a Bawli (a well with descending steps) in 1559. All Sikhs joined in the work of digging the Bawli. There was great activity throughout the construction of the Bawli.

Hari Das, a Khatri of Sodhi tribe, lived with his wife, Daya Kaur, in Chuna Mandi, a suburb of Lahore. Both husband and wife were very religious. After twelve years of their marriage, a son was born to them on September 24, 1534. They called him Ram Das, who was generally known as Jetha meaning first-born. He was very handsome having fair complexion with pleasing personality. As he grew up he liked the company of holy men. One day his mother boiled some pulse, put it into a basket and gave it to him to sell and make profit. Jetha went to the river Ravi. Soon he saw a company of holy men, and Jetha gave the boiled pulse to them and went home. The holy men were very much pleased and prayed for the boy.

One day Jetha saw a company of Sikhs singing the hymns and proceeding with great rejoicing. He asked whither they were going, one of them said,"We are going to Goindwal where Guru Amar Das holds his court. Every blessing in this world and the next is obtained by his favor. Come with us." On hearing this Jetha was delighted and he joined them in their pilgrimage.

On seeing the Guru, Jetha's heart was filled with love and devotion. When he made his obeisance to the Guru, he was attracted by his pleasing personality. The Guru remarked,"If you have come abandoning all worldly desires, you shall obtain a true sovereignty. Perform work and service." Jetha happily applied himself to the Guru's service. He worked in the kitchen, cleaned dishes, shampooed his Master and brought firewood from the forest. He worked in the excavation of the Bawli during his leisure time.

Guru's eldest daughter, Bibi Dani (also known as Sulakhni) was married to Rama. The other daughter, Bibi Bhani was very religious from the very childhood. When she was of marriageable age, her mother reminded the Guru that it was time to search for a match for her. The Guru ordered the search. When his agent was ready to depart, Bibi Bhani's mother saw a young person standing outside and she said to the agent,"Search for a boy like him." The Guru heard her remarks and exclaimed,"He is his own parallel, for God had made none other like unto him." The young man thus chosen was Jethaji (Ram Das).

At the time of marriage, the bridegroom was asked by the Guru to choose a gift for himself, as it was customary to do so. Jethaji replied,"Sir, bless me with the gift of Hari Nam." Bibi Bhani not only considered the Guru as her father but her Guru also. In the same way she served Jetha not only as her husband but as a saint also. Prithi Chand was their first son and three years later Mahadev, the second son made his appearance. On April 15, 1563 Jetha and Bibi Bhani were blessed with their third son, Arjan, at whose birth there were unusual rejoicing.

Meanwhile the Sikhs continued excavation of the Bawli. After digging very deep they found large stones which hindered the progress. The Guru asked the Sikhs if there was any one who would be courageous to drive a peg into the base to remove the obstruction. He had, however, warned that the operation had great danger because if the person could not avert the gush of the water, he might be drowned. All the Sikhs remained silent and no one came forward to take such a risk. At last Manak Chand of Vairowal, who was married to a niece of the Guru, offered his services. This was the same Manak Chand whose parents were blessed with a son (Manak Chand) by Guru Nanak.

Manak Chand, invoking God's name and through the grace of the Guru, was able to wedge through the stone and the stream of water immediately overflowed the Bawli. He was overtaken by the gush of the water. He almost drowned but by the grace of the Guru, he came to the top from where he was taken out and was revived. Therefore, he was called 'Marjiwra' (revived after death).

The Bawli when finished yielded sweet drinking water. The Sikhs rejoiced at the successful completion of their labor. There were eighty-four steps reaching down the Bawli. It is believed that whosoever recites Japji attentively and reverently at each step, is saved from the cycle of transmigration.

GURU KA LANGAR (FREE KITCHEN):

Guru's free kitchen (Guru ka Langar) which was started by Guru Nanak and developed by Guru Angad, was further strengthened by Guru Amar Das. It was the injunction of Guru Amar Das that none would have his audience unless he had first eaten from the Langar. The Guru intended to remove the caste restrictions and prejudices of untouchability. It was, therefore, declared unequivocally that all persons of all castes, high or low, rich or poor, Brahmans or Sudras, Hindus or Muslims, must sit in the same line and eat the same food from Guru's kitchen. When Raja of Haripur or even Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of India, came to see the Guru, they had to sit with common people and dine with them before they could have audience with the Guru. In this way people were lifted above the hypocrisy of caste system and were able to look at one another as brothers and equals.

Mai Das was a renowned Pandit and a devout worshipper of Lord Krishna. He was a strict Vaishnav, he would eat only what he had cooked with his own hands within a purified square. The Guru rejects these purified squares:

When he came to see the Guru, he was informed that unless he had eaten from Guru's kitchen, he could not see him. Being a strict Vaishnav he could not do that, so he left for Dwarka where he thought to have a glimpse of Lord Krishna. On the eleventh day of lunar month Mai Das used to fast and would eat just fruits during that period. Due to winter season the fruits were not available in the forest. Mai Das wandered hungry in the forest looking for fruits but could not find them. Finally he started calling on his gods for help. At last he heard a voice,"You have not eaten food from the Guru's kitchen, and you have not had holy sight of him; therefore shalt thou not obtain perfection. If you desire to do so, then first behold Guru Amar Das."

Upon this Mai Das returned to Goindwal. He partook of food from the Guru's kitchen, and then was allowed to see the Guru. The Guru welcomed him,"Come, Mai Das, thou art a special saint of God." The Guru initiated him as his Sikh, blessed him with Nam and bestowed on him the spiritual power of conferring salvation on others. Mai Das held one of the 22 Manjis (dioceses) set up by Guru Amar Das.

EMPEROR AKBAR VISITS THE GURU:

Akbar, the Emperor of India, on his way to Lahore, paid a visit to the Guru at Goindwal. He was informed that he could not see the Guru until he had dined with others from the Guru's kitchen. Akbar partook of the food in the Langar, the more he had it, the more he relished it. After that the Emperor had an interview with the Master. It is said that the Guru rose to receive the Emperor in his arms, but Akbar spontaneously bowed to touch the feet of the Master. The monarch felt a thrill of joy and peace by the holy touch.

Having seen the large number of people fed from the Guru's kitchen, Akbar requested the Guru to accept his services and his offerings. But the Guru replied,"I have obtained lands and rent- free tenures from my Creator. Whatever comes daily is spent daily, and for the morrow my trust is in God." Akbar then replied,"I see you desire nothing. From thy treasury and thy kitchen countless people receive bounties, and I also entertain similar wishes, I will grant these 84 villages to thy daughter, Bibi Bhani." This was the estate where Guru Ram Das built the city of Ramdaspur which is now called Amritsar.

A COMPLAINT AGAINST GURU TO AKBAR:

When the Brahmans and the Khatris failed in their mission to derail the Guru from Guruship by inciting Datu to declare himself as Guru, they made a special complaint to Emperor Akbar. In their complaint they alleged,"Every man's religion is dear to him. Guru Amar Das of Goindwal has abandoned the religious and social customs of the Hindus, and abolished the distinction of the four castes. He makes his followers of all castes sit in a line and eat together from his kitchen irrespective of caste or religion. There is no offering of water to ancestors, no pilgrimages, no worship of idols of gods or goddesses. The Guru reverenceth not Jogis, Jatis or Brahmans. We, therefore, pray thee to restrain him now, else it will be difficult later on."

Akbar sent a high official to Goindwal to request Guru's attendance. The summons was not a brutal order of a modern court,"Herein fail not, but kindly grant me a sight of thee." The Guru sent Jetha saying,"Thou art in my image; Guru Nanak will be with thee and none shall prevail against thee. Fear no body and give suitable reply."

Jetha gave suitable replies to all the questions and satisfied the Emperor who then gave his decision,"I see no hostility to Hinduism in this man, nor do I find any fault with his compositions." The Brahmans left the court in utter defeat. Macauliffe qoutes 'Suraj Parkash', "Upon this the Emperor took Jetha aside, and told him to request Guru Amar Das, who before his conversion to Sikhism used to make yearly pilgrimages to the Ganges, to make one pilgrimage more in order to divert the wrath of the Hindus. The Emperor added that he would issue an order that no tax should be levied on the Guru's party...... The Guru in compliance with the Emperor's suggestion, and also in order to have an opportunity of preaching his religion, set out for Hardwar." 'The Guru's going to Hardwar for one more pilgrimage to avert the wrath of the Hindus', seems totally unfounded because it is against the tenets of the Guru who says:

'What is pilgrimage? Pilgrimage is Nam,
Pilgrimage is contemplation on Word and realization of inner knowledge.'
(Translation of the above)

"If mind is sinful, everything is sinful,
By washing the body, mind will not become pure."
(Wadhans Mohalla 3, p-558)

It is not right to assert that Guru Amar Das went to Hardwar for one more pilgrimage to please the Hindus. Guru Amar Das went to Hardwar and Kurukshetra not to make a pilgrimage but to preach his doctrine and gospel of Nam to the thousands of battered souls.

ABOLITION OF SATI:

The status of women in Hindu society at that time was very low. When the husband died, the wife either voluntarily burnt herself on the pyre of her husband or was thrown into the fire without her consent. In popular term the woman who did perform this act was called Sati (truthful). Guru Amar Das carried out a vigorous campaign against the practice of Sati. He gave special attention to the improvement of the status of women and thus prohibited this practice. G.B. Scott acclaims the Guru as the first reformer who condemned the prevailing Hindu practice of Sati. The Guru advocated the following:

"Satis are not those who are burnt with husbands, O Nanak, true Satis are whom pangs of separation can finish. Those are considered Satis who live contented, embellish themselves with good conduct;
And cherish the Lord ever and call on Him."
(Var Suhi ki- Slok Mohalla 3, p-787)

The Guru lifted the status of women as equal to men. He prohibited the practice of Sati and preached in favor of widow marriage.

ESTABLISHMENT OF MANJI SYSTEM:

The Guru's following increased considerably. Steps were taken to organize the scattered congregation into a unified whole which was called Manji system. His whole spiritual domain took the shape of 22 Manjis (dioceses). It was so named because the incharge of a Manji sat on a cot (called Manji in Punjabi) to deliver the message of the Guru. The incharge of each and every Manji was a devoted Sikh who was blessed by the Guru before he was appointed to that position. His function was to preach the mission of the Guru, to keep the Sangat (congregation) in touch with the Guru and he was also responsible for the offerings of the Sikhs which they made in token of their reverence to the Guru. The following were the twenty-two Manjis:

1. Alayar: Alayar also called Allah Shah was a Pathan trader whose story has been given earlier, became Guru's Sikh and was entrusted with the first Manji to spread Sikh faith.

2. Sachan Sach: He was a Brahman from Mandar village in Lahore district. He always used the word 'Sachan Sach' and so he was called Sachan Sach. One of the queens of Raja of Haripur became insane, and by the grace of the Guru, she recovered her sanity. The Guru married her to Sachan Sach. The couple preached Sikhism.

3. Sadharan: He was an inhabitant of Goindwal and was given a Manji for his devotion to the Guru.

4. Sawan Mal: He was a nephew of Guru Amar Das. The Guru sent him to Haripur in Kangra district to procure timber for the construction of houses in Goindwal. Sawan Mal propagated Sikh gospel in that area.

5. Sukhan: He was an inhabitant of Dhamian village in Rawalpindi district. He preached Sikhism in that area.

6. Handal: He was from Jandiala village in Amritsar district. He rendered great service in Guru's kitchen.

7. Kedari: Bhai Kedari was an inhabitant of Batala in Gurdaspur district. He was a very famous devotee of the Guru.

8. Kheda: He was from Khemkaran village in Lahore district. He was a devotee of Durga goddess before he became Guru's Sikh.

9. Gangushah: He was an inhabitant of Garh Shankar. The Guru sent him to preach Sikhism in Sarmaur state.

10. Darbari: Bhai Darbari was from Majitha village in Amritsar district.

11. Paro: Bhai Paro was a Sikh of Guru Angad. He was an inhabitant of Dalla. His devotion got him the eleventh Manji.

12. Phera: Bhai Phera was an inhabitant of Mirpur in Jammu area. He was a disciple of the Jogis before he became Guru Amar Das's Sikh. He preached Sikhism in that hilly area.

13. Bua: Bhai Bua became Guru's Sikh and was blessed with Nam, the fragrance of which he spread around his area.

14. Beni: He was a learned Pandit of Chunian in Lahore district. He was proud of his knowledge of Hindu Shastras and he defeated many in the debate of that knowledge. When he came to Goindwal, he fell on the feet of the Guru and became his Sikh. The Guru entrusted him with the fourteenth Manji.

15. Mahesa: He was an inhabitant of Sultanpur and he performed missionary work in that area.

16. Mai Das: Mai Das's story has been given in the previous pages. He preached Sikhism in Majha area.

17. Manak Chand: His reference has been made in the previous pages. When he was drowned in the Bawli and then revived by the Guru, the Sikhs called him Marjiwra- the revived after death. His generation is called Marjiwre in Vairowal village in Amritsar district. Manak Chand was made a spiritual guide to Mai Das by the Guru.

18. Murari: He was an inhabitant of Khai village in Lahore district. His original name Prema and he was a leper. He heard about Guru Amar Das and came crawling all the way to Goindwal. By the grace of the Guru, he was fully healed. He was renamed as Murari. The Guru married him to Matho, daughter of Bhai Sihan. He was then sent out as one of the itinerant preachers of the Guru's gospel.

19. Raja Ram: He was a Brahman. He became Guru's Sikh. His generation now lives in Sandhma village of Jullundhur district.

20. Rang Shah: He was an inhabitant of Malupote village in Jullundhur district. He propagated Guru's faith in Doaba area.

21. Rang Das: He was from Gharooan village (near Kharar) now in Rupar district.

22. Lalo: He was an inhabitant of Dalla and was a famous Vaid (doctor). He became Guru's Sikh and preached Guru's gospel.

Guru Amar Das established another organization called Piri system. The incharges of the Piris were ladies whose objective was to lit the flame of Guru's word and spread the fragrance of Nam among women. Bibi Bhani, Bibi Dani and Bibi Pal were some of the most revered incharges of the different Piris. Guru Amar Das gave authority and power to 146 of his apostles to go to various parts of the country and unfold the glory of Nam. Out of these 146 persons, 94 were men and 52 were women. They were all glowing with Nam and filled with Divine Spirit.

COMPOSITION OF ANAND SAHIB:

One day a Sidh Jogi came to the Guru and complained that he performed every form of penance but did not obtain any peace of mind. He further showed his desire to abandon his body to be reborn in Guru's family so that he be happy worshipping God and singing His praises. His wish was granted. The Guru had two sons, Mohan and Mohri. Mohri's eldest son was Arth Mal and it is said that this Sidh Jogi was reborn as Mohri's second son. When the Guru heard of the Jogi's rebirth, he sent Bhai Ballu to bring the infant to him. On seeing the child, the Guru uttered the composition of Anand (Ramkali Mohalla 3, Anand) or the Song of Joy, and called the child, Anand. This composition (Anand Sahib) is now recited on the occasions of marriages and rejoicing.

SELECTION FOR GURUSHIP:

It should be remembered that Guru's eldest daughter, Bibi Dani was married to Rama who was a zealous Sikh. He used to work in Guru's kitchen and administer to the needs of the pilgrims. Jetha was his younger son-in-law. One day the Guru asked Rama and Jetha,"Each one of you make a platform by the side of Bawli. I will sit on one in the morning and on the other in the evening." When the platforms were completed, the Guru went to inspect them. Rama showed his work and thought that he had done well. The Guru told Rama,"Your platform is not straight, bring it down and rebuild it." Rama dissented but rebuilt another one. It still failed to please the Guru. Rama after long argument, pulled the platform down but refused to build it third time.

The Guru inspected Jetha's platform and said,"Jetha, I do not like it. Demolish it and build another one." Jetha built the second one which was also not of Guru's liking. He demolished it and rebuilt it. The Guru continued to find fault with it until it was destroyed and rebuilt seven times. Jetha then fell at Guru's feet and begged, "I am a fool and lack understanding, while thou possesseth all knowledge. kindly bless me with the wisdom so that I may be able to erect the platform of your liking."

On hearing this the Guru smiled and embraced Jetha and commented,"Obeying my order, you have built the platform seven times, so seven generations of thine shall sit on the throne of Guru Nanak."

Bibi Bhani, Guru's youngest daughter, used to attend her father. She used to fan him, draw water and work in the kitchen. One day the Guru was sitting on his couch (chauki) in deep meditation, when Bibi Bhani noticed that one leg of his couch had broken. Fearing that his meditation would be disturbed, she put her arm in place of the broken leg to support the couch. When the Guru opened his eyes, he found blood coming out of Bibi Bhani's arm. On inquiry Bibi explained that broken leg might have caused disturbance in his meditation and so she thought herself fortunate to serve Guru by substituting her arm for the broken leg of the couch. The Guru commented,"Whosoever does good work, shall reap the reward thereof." He invited her to ask for any favor. She humbly requested that the Guruship should remain in her family. It is believed that the Guru told Bibi Bhani that the Guruship was not a bed of roses and he warned her of the trouble and torture that the later Gurus would have to go through. Bibi Bhani agreed to embrace all those troubles, and again requested to grant her the wish that the Guruship would remain in her family. So far the Guruship was earned by obedience and devotion to the Guru. Here again Bibi Bhani earned it, for her family, with her devotion and sacrifice. The Guru granted her the wish and the Guruship thereafter remained in Bibi Bhani's family.

Guru Nanak appointed his successor at Kartarpur but asked him to go and live at Khadur. Guru Angad asked his successor, Guru Amar Das to live in Goindwal. Guru Amar Das asked Jetha to search for a place other than Goindwal as a residence for the Sikhs. Jetha found an open land about 25 miles from Goindwal, and he established himself there. He built a house for himself and got a tank excavated which was called Santokhsar. It is also believed that the Guru asked Jetha to excavate another tank towards the east which would be called Amritsar- tank of nectar.

SUCCESSION OF GURU RAM DAS:

Guru Amar Das having tested Jethaji in every way, found him perfect and asked for special congregation. Then he asked Bhai Ballu to bring coco-nut and five paise. He asked Jethaji to bathe and clothe in new raiment. Then the Guru descended from his throne and made Jethaji seat on it and called him Guru Ram Das. Bhai Buddha, according to the custom, attached the tilak of Sovereignty to Guru Ram Das's forehead. Among great rejoicing, all Sikhs made offerings according to their means and saluted Guru Ram Das on his appointment. This ceremony was performed on August 30, 1574 at Goindwal.

GURU AMAR DAS'S DEPARTURE:

Guru Amar Das proclaimed,"God's summons hath come. Let there be no mourning when I have gone, sing God's praises, read God's Word (Gurbani), hear God's Word and obey God's Will." On the first of September, 1574, Guru Amar Das left for his heavenly abode and the spirit blended with the Master Spirit.